About the Usefulness of Failure Blog
“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” – Thomas Aquinas
“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
St Andrews may seem like an environment of excellence where everyone is successful and you’re an imposter who doesn’t deserve to be here. Sound familiar? Everyone feels like that sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s true.
Judging by the numbers of students at May Dip each year, many students fail to avoid stepping on the PH. Running into freezing cold water at 5 am on the 1st of May wouldn’t be one of the most exciting student experiences had it not been for the atmosphere of unity around the event.
Acknowledging that everyone makes mistakes and fails is an important first step to realising that failing does not make you a failure. Nor does it make you an imposter. You belong at St Andrews as much as everyone around you does.
No one is immune to making mistakes. CEED gathers stories of failure, and advice on how to deal with it from members of staff and the student body, aspiring to let the same feeling of unity help transform failure from a disaster to a learning experience.
To get started, why not check out this TED playlist about the benefits of failure!